Reboot Reprogram Repair
by Chocoegg333
Summary: Fix her droids; see out the war; maybe get hitched: that was all Evyn wanted in life. Therefore, having a captured Imperial droid thrown her way derailed those plans. Naturally, when being part of a rebellion, one's wants are rarely catered to. One-shot; rated T for themes of war.


**A/N: Hello, dear reader! So this is a story that's been picking at my brain probably since the second Rogue One trailer came out. K2SO was the best part of the movie (in my opinion) and Cassian is pretty great so… this!**

 ** _Trigger_ _Warning:_ descriptions of suicide and the after-effects of torture **

***I am aware that in the Rogue One canon it is _Cassian_ who reprogrammed K2SO, but that is changed in this story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these canonical characters or events or anything. They all belong to Disney, Star Wars, etc. Only the main OC: she is mine.**

* * *

"All right… There we go!" A white light flickered into the droid's visual sensors. Its can-shaped head swiveled left and right, taking in the world around it.

Evyn stepped back as the droid surveyed its surroundings. Although it couldn't _feel_ the emotion of confusion, she assumed that was what it was experiencing right now.

Straightening up, she opened the customary briefing on her datapad. 'Customary' wasn't quite right for this situation, but it would have to do for now.

Reading off the screen, her eyes skimmed the first few lines. "Hello, my name is-" _insert own name here_ "-Evyn Hanaz. Your name is-" _insert droid label here_ "-K2SO." She paused, then asked, "do you know where you are right now?"

Since K2SO was attached—standing up—to an easel rod, it was unable to walk around. And yet, at seven feet tall, it still intimidated her.

Ten seconds passed without any verbal response. Evyn wondered if it was even able _to_ talk.

 _"Can_ you talk?" she muttered to herself. "I know your voice box is still intact."

"My vocal skills are fully operational." The mechanized voice startled Evyn. Even after years of her job, the first time the metal beings spoke always caused her to jump.

"Masculine programming; interesting." She made a note of it.

"I do not know where I am," he concluded, voice dropping off unexpectedly.

 _Able to remember_ _basic_ _questions. So far, no sign of previous Imperial protocol,_ Evyn tapped out on her datapad.

"I suppose that's for the best." _If he were to go awol, it wouldn't be good for him to know the location of the Alliance headquarters._

"-But considering it was _rebel_ forces who raided my previous location, I predict a seventy-five-point-three percent chance that I am no longer in an Imperial facility.

S _trange. He seems oddly…_ sentient _for a droid who was just powered back up._ Evyn tapped another note. _Personality: unconfirmed._

For now, she wasn't allowed to tell him their location. Until she was absolutely certain in the stability of her coding, Evyn had to settle with the vaguest of details.

"According to your history..." She scrolled up to the correct file. "You were created on the planet _Vulptor_ by _Arakyd Industries."_ She looked up, apprehensive. "Do either of those names sound familiar?"

K2SO turned his head, displaying the confusion equal to that of a child. "No," he said, returning his attention to her, "I do not recognize the names 'Vulptor' or 'Arakyd Industries'."

 _That's good._

"Should I?"

Evyn raised an eyebrow. _Questions._ "No, you shouldn't. Your former programming should be completely wiped out by now."

 _"_ _Former;_ past tense…" His voice almost sounded _wistful._

Evyn smiled. "Exactly!"

* * *

"General Draven!" Evyn's shorter stature hindered her catching up with the superior officer. Only when he slowed his pace was she able to walk in tandem with him. "You wanted to speak with me, sir?"

The General stopped suddenly, and Evyn nearly stumbled past him. He glanced down at her briefly before resuming his survey of the landing strip.

Evyn shivered. It was cold and windy outside of the base.

"How is the reprogramming of the captured droid going?" he asked.

Evyn ran a hand through her curly hair. "As well as can be expected, sir. The Empire is really meticulous in its programming, but I've managed to crack most of my way through."

"Most?" he questioned, waving down an approaching figure. "How much is 'most'?"

Evyn scrunched up her eyebrows in thought. "About… ninety-five percent? It's nothing major; just some final recognition specifications."

The General nodded. "I suppose that'll have to do."

The man Evyn now realized had been heading towards them greeted General Draven in a respectful manner. Like her, he was wearing the standard-issue brown cargo pants. In this gusty weather he also had on a distinctive jacket with a fur-lined hood.

"Engineer Hanez," the General introduced her. "This is Captain Andor. You and the droid will be accompanying him on a mission today."

Evyn's eyes bugged out of her head. _"Mission-_ today?! Sir, I don't think-"

"This will serve as a test run for the K-X unit," General Draven pushed onward. "You're headed into Imperial territory, so it should be of _some_ use."

"But- but sir-"

"-Grab what you need and head to launch pad E-6. Captain Andor will brief you there."

Clearly defeated, Evyn nodded submissively. "Yes, sir." She left to go retrieve K2SO.

Once she was out of hearing distance, Captain Andor stated, "she does not seem like the field-ready type."

The General shook his head. "No; she rarely leaves the base. -But," he added, "no one knows the droids like she does."

* * *

"Come on, K2SO, up an' at em!" Playfully knocking on his durasteel chest plate, Evyn threw some belongings into a backpack.

"Exactly _who_ are we getting 'at'?" K2SO took two giant steps as Evyn took five small ones towards the door, his feet clanking against the floor.

"I'm not sure yet." She paused nervously, "we'll find out when we get there, I guess."

"That is not an intelligent way of going about your business."

* * *

Captain Andor tried to hide his displeasure at the sight of his new—temporary—partners.

Evyn was small and heavy-set. She walked with a cheerful attitude—one that had no place off-base.

The droid following her was another case entirely. Captain Andor instinctively touched his blaster the moment he saw it. Tall and grey, droids of its kind were a common sight amongst Empire-occupied areas. Not so much on an Alliance launch strip—at least in its current, undamaged state.

Reconnaissance mission or not, neither of them looked equipped for it.

"Captain Andor!" Evyn waved to him as they got closer.

He acknowledged her with a nod before ducking inside his ship.

"Captain Andor," she said it with less enthusiasm this time, "this is, uh, K2SO—the droid."

'The droid' was currently facing away from them. He regarded the Rebel base with an innocent curiosity, only responding at the third call of his name.

"Where are we going?" he asked once they were all inside.

Evyn was about to tell him (again) that _she didn't know_ when the Captain shut the door with a surprising force.

"Nanalam," he informed them brusquely. "Part of an asteroid mining colony."

K2SO stared down at Evyn. _"He_ knows more than you."

Evyn sighed before tossing her backpack onto a seat. "Yes, K2SO, that's why he's in charge." _That's why he's called 'Captain'._

"Here." Captain Andor handed Evyn a blaster. She stared at it for almost too long of a moment, eyes narrowed.

She held it delicately between thumb and index finger, like one might a pair of undergarments that weren't one's own. "I assume it's charged?" She inquired quietly.

He gave her a look. _Obviously._ "I assume you know how to fire it?"

"Yeah— oh, yeah… I remember." _How long has it been?_ Evyn tried to remember which button was the trigger and which one was the for the safety.

Walking past her to the pilot's seat, Cassian tapped the blaster. "This one's the safety."

"I knew that..." she muttered.

"Why don't _I_ get a blaster?" K2SO complained.

"Uh..." Evyn gestured at his arms, all the while trying not to shoot herself in the foot. "You can lift 500 kilograms, K2SO; you won't need one."

She could have sworn he muttered, _"I still want one..."_

"You can co-pilot?" Captain Andor asked her.

"It's been a while, but I'm sure I can manage." It certainly had been a while— _since her training!_

Noticing her hesitancy, Captain Andor pointed to three separate levers on the dash. "Thrusters, ignition, pager."

"Right, of course." Evyn slumped into the seat next to him. _Let's just get to_ _Nanalam_ _in one piece._

* * *

Pro of having a reprogrammed Imperial droid with you in Empire territory: you blend in about ten times easier.

Con of having a reprogrammed Imperial droid with you in Empire territory: if he's been _recently_ reprogrammed, his circuits may want to revert back to their original format.

Their assignment was simple enough. A group of Rebel operatives had been tasked with blowing up a transport bridge near an Empire-friendly communications centre. Except the bridge hadn't been blown up and no one had contacted the Alliance.

Fortunately, all was well. Turns out the saboteurs had only misinterpreted the detonation date to one week _later_ than the planned time.

"Well that seems like an awfully silly mistake," K2SO quipped. "Are we going back to the ship now?"

For the tenth time that day Evyn wished she had removed his voice box. In a span of six hours the droid had managed to offend a food vendor, snub their rebel contact, and insult the sabotage leader.

And for the tenth time Captain Andor looked at her like she was the dirt beneath his feet.

 _"_ _One more and you take him back to the ship,"_ he growled to her the moment 'Operation Rocksalt's' leader had turned away.

Embarrassed, Evyn could only nod.

Fortunately, K2SO's outbursts were less-than-offensive for the remainder of the meeting.

Evyn shambled behind the captain as they made their way back to the ship.

"K2SO," she called out again. He had grown a habit of wandering off every few minutes. When his heavy footsteps didn't reach her ears, however, she turned around.

"K2SO?" The street only held a few of the locals, moving from building to building. There was an old man sitting on one of the steps, a box for donations at his feet. One stormtrooper caught her eye, but the droid was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, blast it!" She sprinted to where she noticed a tall shadow—around a corner and nearly out of sight.

"Where are you—?" Captain Andor had no choice but to run after her. _Should have left them behind…_

He caught up to Evyn just as she rounded the corner.

"What's going o—ohhh dear." The pair watched in horror as K2SO tottered over to a group of stormtroopers.

 _"What is it doing?!"_ Captain Andor whisper-yelled.

 _"_ _I don't know!"_ Evyn exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "He's got a short attention span, I guess!"

K2SO heard none of this, barely registering that he was heading towards the _enemy._

 _If one becomes displaced from one's stationed operative group, find the nearest soldier and alert him of your situation. If one becomes displaced from one's stationed operative group…_ The Empire's lost-and-found recognition protocol had almost completely overridden his new programming.

K2SO was about to alert the soldiers of his situation—he _was_ lost, wasn't he?—when he suddenly found himself on the ground.

 _"_ _Oof!"_ A _whoosh_ of air forced its way out of Captain Andor's lungs as he tackled the droid behind a barrier. He didn't look it, but K2SO packed some weight behind that seven-foot-whatever height of his.

Before he knew what was going on, Evyn was straddling K2SO's chestplate. She muttered a string of nonsense words into its auditory receptors and the light in the droid's eyes went out.

As they hid and waited for the stormtroopers to move on, Captain Andor looked over her face for answers. But nothing was revealed in that dark, furrowed brow of hers.

* * *

"It could have gotten us killed!" Captain Andor exclaimed, "or worse: captured!"

Evyn kept her head down as she lugged K2SO the final few feet into the ship. "It wasn't his fault," she said softly.

"Are you serious?" Captain Andor tossed his blaster to the floor. It was all he could do to keep from shooting that confounded droid.

"He couldn't help it," Evyn muttered, brushing K2SO's forehead with an almost caring touch. "It- it's my fault. I thought I had done enough in that section… _Clearly_ I haven't."

Captain Andor slumped down onto the ship's bench. He looked at her questioningly.

Evyn shook her head, "whatever you say about the Empire, you gotta give them one thing: their droid programming is top-shelf— _especially_ with the recognition protocol. It's the _one_ thing that gives me trouble. Childish personalities, violent tendencies—those I can handle. I can build on those. But completely wiping the past?" She let a sharp breath out of her nostrils, "that takes longer than three weeks of rehabilitation."

She looked so disappointed, so inwardly disdainful, Captain Andor couldn't help but feel a little sorry. (He would feel more sorry if they hadn't had to carry the droid all the way back to the ship.)

"I have to log this."

"I know."

"What would you recommend?" he asked her.

She looked up, hand picking K2SO's dusty chestplate. "What?"

"If you were given more time with it, what would you do?"

Cassian's heart lifted as Evyn began to spill her thoughts on the patterns of AI psychology.

* * *

Evyn hated briefings. They felt like interrogations. She could tell that it was easy for Cassian..

"—And that is what you'd recommend?" General Draven's voice jerked Evyn out of her thoughts. Both him and Cassian were looking at her, waiting on her reply.

"What? Oh, uhuh, yes! That's perfect."

The general raised an eyebrow. "Very well; it's settled." Evyn and Cassian were dismissed.

"What did I just agree to?" Evyn whispered to him.

His eyes, filled with humor, rolled around in his head. Though Cassian wasn't entirely happy with being saddled with her, it was only a temporary assignment. "We're _partners_ now. Go get that droid of yours; we have six weeks to get it mission-ready."

Evyn's eyes widened. _Shit._

* * *

"You need to stop doing that."

Evyn turned to Cassian. "Doing what?" she whispered.

 _"That._ Whispering and looking over your shoulder. Stop it." He ordered another drink while Evyn tried to refrain from doing just that.

Even with everyone else at this bar falling over their stools in drunkeness, she couldn't help but feel a dozen pairs of eyes on her.

"Come on. _Relax."_ Cassian jabbed at her shoulder playfully. "You need to have fun!"

"We're on a mission!" she hissed, "and you're _drunk!"_

His gaze suddenly steeled. "Not drunk; just blending in. You should try it sometime."

A server came by their table and he pointed at them. This one was for her.

Leaving her drink half-finished, Evyn moved to stand up. "I should go check on K2SO. He's probably, uh, lonely outside."

Before she could go Cassian's hand was on hers. "Hold on," he said, words a little more than slurred. "I think our contact's here."

Evyn sat down, noticing how his hand lingered a little longer than normal. She brushed it off as a by-product of his strange choice in drinks.

"Thank you again. No, I'm sure I can carry him on my own." Evyn nodded curtly to the contact who had _finally_ showed up. Drawing a hood over their head, they slipped back into the bar.

"K2SO?" Evyn called out as she came across the spot she'd left him at. "K2, where are you?"

"I'm here." He stepped out from behind a shop stall. "I moved because there was a group of stormtroopers. They passed by here just a few minutes ago," he assured her, noting Evyn's accelerated rate of breathing.

"What? Where!?" Evyn was struggling to keep Cassian off the ground. He wasn't heavy, but she wasn't strong either.

"They went that way." K2SO pointed in the opposite direction that Evyn had come from.

"Oh, blast." Evyn wished she hadn't told him to stay. She could have used his help in carrying Cassian.

At least he was here now. "Help me," she groaned, hefting Cassian towards K2SO. "We need to get him back to the ship."

"Are you not capable of doing that yourself?" K2SO inquired.

"Don't give me that."

K2SO bent at the knees and allowed her to deposit Cassian into his arms. At the last second, Evyn chose to pull up his fur-lined hood.

Just as she was about to head back to the ship, K2SO called out to her, "I predict a seventy-two percent chance of an incident in that direction."

Evyn spun on her heel, "then I guess we're taking the long route!"

On the mission report, Evyn left out the fact that Cassian had been out cold. _Mission status: complete_ was all control needed.

Once back at the base, Evyn had K2SO bring Cassian to his dorm.

"A21… A22… Which one is his, again?"

"A26," came the automatic reply.

Finally punching in the right code to his room, Evyn prayed that Cassian slept alone.

"I detect no other life forms," K2SO said, "hostile or otherwise.

 _Otherwise._ Evyn made a face.

She had K2SO put Cassian on his bed and was about to leave when the droid spoke.

"It would be unwise to leave him alone like this. Unconscious intoxication rarely ends well if left unattended."

"So, what? We just stay here?"

 _"_ _You're_ his partner," K2SO quipped, "I'll be powering down now."

"Hey!-" Evyn stopped as the glow in his eyes went out. She almost wanted to start him back up, but three days ago Evyn had made the decision to no longer interfere with his sleep-wake cycle. Strangely enough—and although she had never had children—it felt like she was giving up some parental control over him. The days seemed to be passing faster, which only meant that it was closer to when she would have to let K2SO go.

 _And one day sooner to when you can return to your shop,_ she reminded herself.

* * *

The next time, Evyn made them go to a café.

"If we're drinking, we're drinking _caf."_

Cassian laughed awkwardly, clearly not catching her drift. When he did—or, at least thought he did—he stopped and stared at her.

"Was I… _drunk,_ last time?"

She looked him up and down. "You _really_ don't remember? We carried you to your room."

 _"I_ carried Captain Andor," K2SO reminded her. " _You_ couldn't remember where his room was."

"For the record," Evyn argued, "I carried him all the way from the bar to your hideout—and why would I have any reason to know the exact location where he sleeps?"

"I thought you would know by now," K2SO mused, ensuing an alarmed reaction from Cassian. "-considering how the Captain feels about you."

Both Cassian and Evyn froze.

Noticing their similar reactions, K2SO said, "oh, I see that I was wrong in my presumptions about your knowledge on the subject."

Eyes looking upwards, Cassian shook his head. _No, really._

"I- I'm sorry about that," Evyn said, handing Cassian his drink. "A side effect of the analytical programming—he tends to say whatever's on his mind."

Cassian nodded. "Yes, I have noticed."

The most agonizing of moments passed, with both trying not to make eye contact.

"I think it's time we go-" K2SO stopped at Evyn's glare. Slowly turning the other way, he changed topic, "-off to the ship. Which is where I am headed: alone."

"You must be able to fix that," Cassian sighed, trying to change the subject.

Evyn shrugged. "I haven't found anything _physically_ wrong with the circuits. It's not uncommon for droids to develop _interesting_ personalities once reprogrammed." She looked down, idly tapping the side of her cup. "Though I think we should address the thing we're trying not to think about right now."

Cassian shifted uncomfortably, "we do not have to-"

"-Well, I'd consider it unprofessional to start a relationship with someone of such a higher status than me, that _and_ we're in the middle of a _war."_ Her finger stopped, "also, you're not really my type, if you get what I mean."

He apologized immediately, something Evyn found sweet, but unnecessary.

"If I had known-"

She held up her hand to silence him. "-Stop. Please." She moved it next to his. "You weren't rude or overbearing—which is something I can't always say. I didn't even notice until K2SO pointed it out." _Not quite the kindest let-down, but it'll have to do._ "My girlfriend used to tell me that I can be quite oblivious when it comes to the emotions of others. 'You're better off with androids, than people,' were her exact words, I think."

The awkwardness that had transpired that day would always be a part of their relationship. Whenever Cassian would be caught staring at Evyn, he would return to his grumpy and un-conversational self. And whenever K2SO brought up the idea (not always in a joking manner) of couples' counseling, Evyn would threaten to download him into a desktop datapad.

Evyn knew that their relationship had changed for the better when she got knocked down by a stormtrooper. Cassian didn't coo or fuss over her (though he hadn't in the past). With concern evident in his eyes, he simply helped Evyn to her feet.

She brushed off her jacket. "Thanks. Damn troopers can't see outta their masks."

He smirked. "Clearly."

And so for two weeks—because that's the longest anything good lasts in a war—everything was fine. Not good or great, but also not terrible.

K2 was as snarky as ever, but he no longer went full sixty-six on them whenever a stormtrooper passed by.

Cassian had begun teaching the two of them how to fly the ship—solo. Evyn hated it. She also couldn't deny that K2SO got a little too much satisfaction out of her quiet shrieks.

"I still do not understand why I'm not allowed a blaster," he complained to her endlessly.

"It's one of the many unsolved mysteries of the universe," she would always retort.

"No it isn't," he would say, "you just don't trust me."

She _was_ starting to trust him. But arming droids with weapons was something she hadn't the jurisdiction for.

"Come on, guys," Cassian would interject as the conversation would start to ramp up Evyn's anxiety. It seemed that he was the only buffer to their quarrels.

Even with K2 and Evyn's arguments, the trio began to work well together. The final report for K2SO's reprogramming was due at the end of the month, and, surprisingly enough, Evyn was not as nervous as she usually was.

All was going well, indeed—until their mission on F'ndra.

A simple stop-and-drop, that's all it was supposed to be. The disruption of an arms supply route: that was their goal.

"I need to hook you up to the computer. With your security clearance, we'll be able to access their travel routes," Evyn informed K2SO.

Before he could respond, Cassian butted in, "make it quick, okay? We don't have much time before the next shift rotation."

Evyn nodded and he returned to watching the hallway.

"Did you get that?" She returned her attention to K2SO.

"Your explanation or his interruption?"

She frowned. "Kay… Not now." _Especially not now. Time is literally ticking away._

Finally, he sighed, "I understand," and unlatched the control panel on his chest.

Evyn connected him to the computer's automatic response network, then she initiated the search engine. Even though they were safe (for the moment), Evyn couldn't help glancing over her shoulder every few seconds.

They weren't exactly in an Empire facility, per say. It was more of a public records building—that happened to be in a city under Imperial command. And while it held documentation of the city's occupational history, it was also a covert relay station for high-level transmissions. (So their information said.)

Evyn hoped that K2's file hadn't been decommissioned. If he had, his security clearance wouldn't be able to get them in.

"I detect no aversions to my programming," K2 informed her. "I'm pulling up the supply routes for you now."

"Yes!" Evyn relaxed immediately. She reached out a hand before realizing that K2SO didn't know what a fist-bump was.

"Keep it down!" Cassian was about to reprimand her when he saw the screen.

He crouched down next to her. "Is that it?"

Evyn smirked, "yeah." She ran through all the files again before asking, "this is all we need, right?"

"Yes, so copy it, and let's go!" Cassian motioned for her to hurry.

Evyn rolled her eyes, muttering, "always the speedster." As the transcription from data records to portable drive reached one hundred percent, Evyn moved to unplug K2SO from the computer—but something caught her eye.

.She had seen that before.

"K2..." She moved her hand away from the cord connecting him to the mystery file. "Would you please run a recognition search on Imperial files labelled _dot-U-M-V,_ please?"

"Commencing search..." As K2SO deciphered what had caught Evyn's eye, Cassian looked between them exasperatedly.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Shushushushh." Evyn waved him off, an action she wouldn't have done under alternative circumstances.

"We need to go! Their changing guards right. _Now!"_ Cassian gestured with his blaster at the barely-open door. Any minute, the enemy would walk by and see them.

"Then take this and go!" Evyn shoved the drive at him before returning to the screen. The supply routes were the least of her concerns right now. Something about this file was bugging her; she had definitely seen it before.

At once, her face was illuminated by a screen of scrolling letters and numbers.

"I have deducted that this file contains the-"

"-Empire's latest communication algorithm," Evyn breathed.

"Precisely what I was _going_ to say," K2 muttered. "Which is why you didn't need to interrupt."

"This… this…" Oh, _stars._ Evyn's hands (almost) shook with glee as she copied the new file onto her back-up-back-up drive. "I _knew_ I recognized this!" She pointed at K2SO, "I saw it in _your_ Imperial history—only then it was just a memory! But now, now we have it all!"

"What are you talking about?" Cassian growled. He was tempted to drag her out of there if that's what it took, but his instincts were (frustratingly) telling him to let her speak.

"This- this is-" Evyn stood up and quickly tucked the drive into his jacket pocket. "This is the Empire's _transmission_ _algorithm._ _-_ It's how they encrypt their messages; and now we can de-code all of them!"

K2SO patted her shoulder. "I detect a dangerous increase in your heart rate, Evyn. I advise that you take some deep, calming breaths."

Evyn was about to take his advise when they heard a voice on the other side of the door.

"What was that?"

They all froze. _Stormtroopers._

In customary rebel fashion, the trio retreated behind the door. Cassian put a finger to his lips.

"Is that a gesture meant to indicate-" K2SO didn't even get to finish his sentence.

With a loud _bam!_ The door was kicked open. Two stormtroopers, guns at the ready, entered the room. Apprehensive, they looked over the glowing array of data screens, unaware of the figures behind them.

"Are you sure you heard something?" one asked.

The other nodded, "definitely."

Those were the last words they said before Cassian shot them both in the back of the head.

Surprising even herself, Evyn didn't even react to this. What really scared her was how de-sensitized she was becoming to death.

"Come on," Cassian said, already rummaging through the troopers' armor. "Help me with this."

Evyn frowned. "What?"

"Their _armor,"_ he said, the meaning more clear this time around. "We'll put it on and sneak out of here."

Evyn's stomach leaped into her throat. "Yeah, um, well… I don't think I'll be fitting into that." She gestured to her own plus-sized figure. Due to her at-base work status, she had been exempt from the rigorous physical training the other field operatives went through. Evyn really regretted not taking up some gym time.

Cassian looked her up and down. Before his gaze returned to her eyes, he knew she was right. His stomach sank.

As Evyn bit her lip, he said, "then I guess we'll have to improvise. You trust me, right?"

* * *

 _This is a terrible plan, this is a terrible plan, this is a terrible plan…_

"Calming breaths," K2 advised her, loosening his grip on her shoulder. "It will be all right."

"You know full well that it won't!" Evyn hissed.

"Shut it, criminal." Cassian's voice sounded strange coming out of a stormtrooper modulator.

"-Just keep quiet and let me talk," he added as an afterthought.

"Soldier! Where are you taking this prisoner?" Cassian and Evyn cursed internally as they were confronted by two more stormtroopers.

"To the brig, sir!" Cassian nodded to the taller of the two.

"We don't have a brig." The shorter one (by only a small margin) stepped forward. "This is a public building."

"Really?" Cassian said, shifting Evyn behind him just a little. "That's funny… I guess we—I just got turned around. As you-"

"Protocol states that directions must be given to the nearest containment facility," K2 interjected. Then he gestured to Evyn, "she has committed a _crime_ and must be.. contained.. for it."

If Evyn could see behind their masks, she would probably be faced with unimpressed expressions.

"What exactly was her crime?"

Evyn was glad they were willing to entertain this; the longer K2 stalled them, the longer Cassian had to think of another escape plan.

"Public intoxication," K2SO said without any hesitation. Cassian had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

"Right..." Neither stormtrooper seemed very convinced. Regardless, they had more important duties to take care of.

"Take 'er to the building down the road," ordered the taller one. "Next to the food stall, on the right."

The groups moved past each other. Evyn breathed a sigh of relief when they made it ten paces forward. Then one of the stormtroopers spoke again.

"Soldier: what is your identification number?"

 _Shit._

When Evyn was younger, she had been prone to spontaneous fits of hyperventilation. In her teen years, the fits had developed into panic attacks.

Aside from her parents, her girlfriend had been the only person able to calm her down. Lisë had been brave and kind and not the least bit reckless.

In taking her next action, Evyn thought of Lisë—and how she could have been saved.

 _"_ _Motor-oil-flip-burger!" S_ he whispered the obscure override command to K2SO. Immediately, the light in his eyes dimmed. With that said, he would obey her orders without question or hesitation.

"Take Cassian to the ship!" she cried as she lunged at the stormtroopers. Complying instantly, K2SO wrapped one arm around Cassian's chest and began to drag him away.

"Go faster!" she yelled. Using as much force as she could muster, Evyn attempted to deck the taller stormtrooper. He stumbled backward, and she was able to rid him of his blaster. "Fly off the planet!" she cried. _"Go!"_

In the back of her mind Evyn heard Cassian's anguished roars. _Push it out stop thinking—_

The shorter stormtrooper clocked her over the head.

The lights went out.

* * *

Cassian was furious. He was enraged, livid, and in dear need of a wall to punch.

They wouldn't go back. The rebels he called his _associates_ (dare he say friends?) were refusing to retrieve Evyn from F'ndra.

"We simply cannot risk it." Mon Mothma could see how troubled he was; but her decision was sensible. "She retrieved what was necessary—more than that, in all truth—and did the rebellion a great service. I am sorry, but your droid predicts a forty-five percent chance that she has already been executed. Going back for the body… It would just be a…" Mon Mothma chose her next words with care, but she still knew they were going to hurt, "-an unnecessary expenditure."

She did not feel the need to remind him that the _original mission_ (the blockade of an arms supply route) had not been successfully completed. That was no matter; what had been brought back in its stead was far more valuable.

"Is that what we are to you?" The growl surprised even Cassian himself. "Just- just _resources_ to be used up?" He realized his impertinence the moment he said it.

"I know that you are distressed." Mon Mothma let the insult to her character slide. "So I will take that as a side effect of your grief. Good day, Captain Andor."

Resigning to his quarters, Cassian pressed his forehead to his open palms. _Stupid stupid stupid! Why_ had he grown attached to her? …Developed feelings for her.

Half of his mind told him there was still a chance that she was out there.

The less lovestruck-by-her-quirky-mannerisms side yelled at himself to stop. _Fantasizing._

 _To what end would this go on?_ If- _if_ he rescued her, she'd be forever grateful, and their relationship would continue, platonic as ever.

 _To what end…_ He felt like punching a wall. -Everyone out there thought she was already dead. He had to start believing that too if he wanted to go on.

Startling him, a loud banging on his door brought Cassian back.

He got up and opened it warily.

"Was that too loud?" K2SO dwarfed the doorway in height.

Cassian had no verbal response for him. As he turned away, K2 said, "I was meaning to wake you up: that is why the knock was so loud. But now that I see that you were not asleep..." His circuits slowly realized that this one-sided exchange was going nowhere.

"Shouldn't you be reporting for your final… whatever?" Cassian said coldly.

"That's hardly a kind way to greet someone." Bending at the knees to do so, K2 stepped into Cassian's quarters.

"And what would you know of kindness?!" Cassian snapped, turning on the droid.

K2 didn't hesitate for a second. "Evyn wanted me to be kind."

At the mention of her name, Cassian squeezed his eyes shut. _Don't listen to it, don't listen to it…_

"She's gone." He finally managed to spew the words out with a shaky breath. "You said it yourself: she's already been executed."

If K2 was human he would have laughed. "I know what I said—and that wasn't it."

* * *

"This is against your orders."

"To be fair," Cassian said, "I was never specifically told _not_ to do this."

"That is a lie and you are completely sure of it."

"This was _your_ idea in the first place!" Cassian cried, steering the ship out of its dock.

"I suggested it in the attempt of alleviating your grief," K2 told him. (He was now capable of preforming a co-pilot's duties even more efficiently than Evyn—a fact that had both worried and made her proud in the days before F'ndra.) "I never intended for you to take such insensible actions."

That had to be a lie. "You're telling me that this _isn't_ what you had in those circuits of yours?"

K2 stared at him. "That is a directly rhetorical question, and for the sake of future documentation, I am choosing not to answer it."

A memory that had been bugging Cassian: how had Evyn been able to control K2SO? _What had she said to him?_

Calculating Cassian's most probable train of thought, K2SO said, "Engineer Hanez is very capable in her job. But even she has to put safety measures in place."

"Safety measures…" Cassian shook his head. Whatever control she'd had over K2SO in those few moments, it seemed exactly like when he had almost run into the stormtroopers on Nanalam.

Cassian couldn't deny that the thought of it unnerved him a little.

* * *

They had to use the algorithm. Listening in on one of the Empire's feeds, they were able to deduct where Evyn was being kept. The sweet, sweet, transmission algorithm so coveted by the Rebellion; it was used to locate one, friendly operative.

On the off chance that the Empire figured out how Evyn's location was discovered, the entire code would be changed.

Cassian knew that had been Mon Mothma's true fear: losing the possibility of eavesdropping on the Empire over one intelligence officer and a faulty droid.

She was being held in a low-security prison on a dwarf planet located in one of the outer ring sectors. Cassian suspected that she was going to be transferred to the mid-ring Wobani, where she would undoubtedly be put to work in one of the many labour camps.

They had to get to her before that.

* * *

Cassian regretted every mean thought he'd ever had about K2. He was an invaluable asset when infiltrating the Imperial detention centre.

It was K2SO who convinced the guards of their validity (thankfully with less snark present in his voice), it was K2SO who bypassed the additional security measures of entrance codes and intention scans, and it was K2SO who located Evyn's cell number through the prison's database.

"This way," he pointed to Cassian's right. "She's in holding fifteen-B."

It was K2 who unlocked the door's security panel to reveal a sorry sight.

At first, it looked like a mound of rags in the corner. Only when Cassian shed some light did it move.

A hand shielded her eyes from the brightness. Squinting past it, Evyn registered the K-X security droid.

Instantaneously, she dissolved into a string of incomprehensible whimpers.

"No… not again… Please, I _told you:_ I don't know anything."

Feet scrambling against the duracrete floor, she attempted to push away from them. The blanket was drawn up to her head by shaking hands. Hands, Cassian realized, that were spotted with a purple that contrasted to her brown skin. Eyes twitching, she looked back and forth between him and K2SO.

The fearful recognition of a wounded dog to its master was all that she showed towards K2SO.

"She is frightened of me," K2 said, his voice ringing a clear note of disappointment.

"Then you better keep watch outside." Cassian moved past him to kneel in front of her.

She flinched when he moved closer, his hand outstretched.

"Evyn…" he began, but was cut off by another of her whimpers.

She bunched her knees up in between them, pushing back into the wall.

"No… no… why…"

Her shaking only increased the closer his hand got. Cassian realized that getting her out of here would be more difficult than previously expected.

Time was wasting. They needed to leave, now.

Registering the increase in Evyn's sobs, Cassian tugged her to her feet. He slung her right arm over his shoulder, now bearing both their weights.

With the first step he took, she nearly crumpled to the floor.

"Come on," he grunted, hoisting her back up. Now that he knew she was alive, he would do everything he could to get her out.

* * *

Surviving two weeks as an Imperial prisoner of war was no small feat. In all reality, it was entirely unheard of. No one 'survived' without losing something along the way.

Rage broiled in Cassian's gut as he watched Evyn being interrogated—even if it was with more care than in her previous situation.

The 'interrogator', in actuality, was a war-time psychology specialist; she knew what she was doing. She delivered several low-trigger questions that were meant to open up Evyn's consciousness to what had occurred—rather than a forceful shut-out of the events.

So far, an answer to her newly-accumulated fear of K2SO had been provided: another droid from his K-X series had assisted in Evyn's torture.

The abuse was evident. She had lost weight—a noticeable amount from two weeks of near-starvation. Her cheek and arm bones poked through from what Cassian could see, displaying a fragility in her body that hadn't been there before.

Covering her arms (and, no doubt, other areas) were a disgusting painting of marks and slashes. The bruises were fading to a light green; her two fingers lacking nails had been bandaged from outside bacteria; and several longs cuts were now covered up and seeped a lesser amount of pus.

The moment they'd reached the ship he had tended to them in what little ways he could. When they had arrived in Rebellion territory, she had been cleaned, then stitched up and dressed in gauze. He was told the bandages were meant to sate any desires to pick at the stitches.

To Cassian's right, K2SO stood, transfixed by her: the woman responsible for his current, 'defected' state.

As he was a droid, K2 did not feel emotions like _compassion_ or _empathy._ Instead, he grew attached. He had grown (though it was an incorrect term because he was incapable of physical growth) attached to Evyn—like two chains linked together.

In the two days since she had been brought back—brought _home_ in essence—neither K2 nor Cassian had been permitted to speak to her.

Now, as the psychological analyst exited the private medical ward, they anxiously awaited her verdict.

Spotting them, she cocked an eyebrow.

"She isn't entirely stable at this moment," she said.

"Then you haven't done your job," K2 chirped.

Cassian held out a hand to stop the droid from advancing any further. "Excuse him. They are… very close."

"I presume you are the duo who rescued her," she intoned, glancing at her datapad.

"Yes… we are."

The woman made a small 'hm' to herself then sighed quietly.

"As I said: she isn't entirely stable. It would be unwise to leave her alone in there."

Leaving the door unlocked—shown by its telltale green light—she went to deliver her report.

K2 and Cassian looked at each other.

"That was against her instructions," K2 said, not entirely displeased.

"Then we'll make use of the time we have." Cassian strode towards the door.

Up close, Evyn looked even worse. The bruises had been evolving to their expected green over the past few days. K2SO knew it was a sign of healing, but it still looked unattractive and unhealthy.

As they approached, Evyn swiveled her head to look in their direction. Her expression softened from one of pain to one of pained relief.

"Hey, guys." Her voice, quiet and raspy as it was now, had become a consistent sound in Cassian's past two months.

This time, she didn't flinch as Cassian sat close to her. Still, her gaze was unusually untrusting in their presence.

"You recognize us?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't think I'll ever not," she said quietly. "You got me out of… there. I'll never forget _your_ face."

Cassian's heart lurched. She hadn't acknowledged it, but did she blame him?

"Of course," she added, "you're also the reason I was given more time with K2."

At the mention of his shortened name, K2SO stepped forward. However, Evyn still did not acknowledge him.

"Evyn..." Cassian breathed. "I… I am sorry."

She frowned. "What for? I needed that extra time for the re-programming."

Without warning, Cassian took her hand in his. She hissed, muscles tensing up.

He waited for her to relax. When she finally did, Cassian spoke.

"I mean, I am sorry for leaving you behind."

"Oh. …That."

A look washed over her face: one that he knew.

Disappointment, despair, and a dwindling sense of hope.

She didn't say anything for a time. So long a time, that Cassian wondered if she had forgotten he was there.

"I made the choice," she finally murmured. "You… you had the code, and that was all that ma- mattered, right?" Slippery stars on the verge of falling shone in her eyes. "After all, that's what we are. Just… _things_ for the rebellion… cogs in a machine that's barely working." She wiggled her fingers out from in between his. "We're reaching the end, Cassian. It's all going to stop soon and I- I don't think we'll be able to do it."

To halt his fidgeting, Cassian returned his hands to his lap. "What are you talking about, Evyn?"

Her frame—neck, spine, and shoulders—shuddered in response. "We can't win this, Cassian." She shook her head, drawing her arms in. "It's too much… They're just too _strong."_

At that, she broke down into tears. Ugly, gulping sobs that she tried to hide by holding her hands in front of her face.

Cassian had no choice but to leave after that.

* * *

K2SO made the decision to visit her one day later.

As Cassian was awaiting a verdict regarding his actions and Evyn was… out of commission, he had no one suggesting (telling) what he was to do.

This was what some would call freedom. To him, it was just confusion.

Not knowing where to go, he returned to the person he was most familiar with.

Her eyes were closed when he first entered the room. But at the clanking of his footsteps they shot open.

Wide-eyed and suspicious, Evyn drew away from K2SO as he approached her.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" she questioned him.

"I came to offer you moral support," he said instantly. After ten minutes of contemplation, K2SO had decided that that was the best wording of the phrase. "…That _is_ what friends do, is it not?"

Her bottom lip was quivering. She didn't answer him.

Limbs creaking, he took another step towards her bed. K2 didn't mean to seem so menacing. It was only how he was programmed.

"You are afraid of me," he stated simply, just noticing how her hand had begun to creep towards her bed's panic button. "I'm sorry that I frighten you."

At his confession, she visibly relaxed. In those words had been a hint of humanity—and that, no matter how small, calmed her.

He stood at her bedside, looming above Evyn at his two-point-one-six meter height. She held out her hand, palm facing upward.

He glanced down, "does that mean I can sit?"

Evyn didn't laugh. He thought she would.

Heaving it over his shoulder, he placed the metal stool beside her bed. When he sat down, his knees almost extended to above his chest plate

One of Evyn's forearms lay outside her blanket. He noted that the bandages were in due need of a change.

"Did they tell you what..." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He stared at her intently. _…happened?_ "Cassian and I were told that you were tortured. …With assistance from a droid."

Evyn shivered. Then, lips barely parted, she said, "at first I thought- I thought it was you. I thought that you and Cassian had been captured and they… they'd returned your programming to its original…" Now, both arms were out from under the blanket. Evyn circled them around her torso. "He- _it_ had the same design, same insignia—same _voice_ —and-" her voice broke off. "I… I tried to talk to you- to _it…_ But it wouldn't listen. _…Wouldn't stop."_

"Clearly it wasn't me."

She hadn't known that. Evyn _still_ didn't know what was the truth and what was not. She woke up from her less-than-sleep sweating and crying, shaking and alone.

She didn't know what to do. Evyn wasn't sure if anything _could_ be done.

In those night hours she stayed awake, petrified at the thought of a someone bursting through the door to her room and dragging her back to that cell. With its grey, durasteel walls, each one plain and rusted. Every time she was given water it was tepid and filled with bacteria. With no toilet to speak of, she'd had to scrape her bile to the corner until the cleaning bot came. There had been no hope, surrounded by those four walls, one floor, and ceiling. The stone flooring, cracked and damp, swallowed her up into-

"Did Cassian send you here?" she whispered, voice directed at K2SO, but also at the wall across from her bed.

"No," K2 said. "He did not. I believe he is being reprimanded for using the algorithm to fin-" He stopped himself before Evyn would hear the rest of the sentence.

Realizing the rest of what he had been about to say, her chin dipped down. She blinked tiredly, hiding her true dismay.

"Oh… so _that's_ how you found me." _They used it to…?_ She took in a shaky breath, "why- _why would you do that?_ It was needed for something more!"

"I believe that some might use the word 'lovestruck' to describe his actions."

Shoulders slumped, Evyn turned slowly so she was facing him. "And you? What are your _thoughts_ on his decision?"

If K2SO had been human, in that moment, his expression would have been one of discomfort.

"I advised against it," he admitted, leaving out his insinuations to Cassian that he had wanted her to be rescued. "My analysis indicated a very high chance of failure."

Evyn nodded, "as it should have."

"-But," he interjected. "I felt that it was my duty to help retrieve you. After all, Captain Andor would be even more unbearable had you not been brought back."

Evyn caught the message underneath K2's words.

"Come here." She motioned for him.

"Why?"

She sighed, tired from conversing for so long. Evyn was growing tired of most things. "I need to change something."

A childish snark evident in his voice, K2 questioned as to 'what could possibly be wrong?'

"When I commanded you to leave me behind," she began, "do you remember what I said?"

"Yes; it was quite an odd phrase-"

"-Don't say it!" Evyn interjected. "…I made it that way so no one would be able to control you like I did."

Leaving the blankets behind, she scooted to the edge of her bed, balanced precariously close to him. With shaking fingers (yet that still contained the deftness of a micro-engineer), she opened the plate on K2SO's back. One wire stood out—at least to her, the one who had put it there—against all the rest.

With minute precision, she plucked it from its place. A plastic hued in the likeness of magenta and interwoven with a phrik compound, it was identical to any other found in a motor control centre of a droid. At least, of those she had personally reprogrammed.

Each had their own verbal activation codes that connected to her seventy-two active droids in the Rebellion. And every one of them, if activated in such a manner, could be completely susceptible to Evyn's commands.

Now, as she connected the specially-made wire to its new home (between the insusceptible tactile cortex and the faulty personality chip she knew would never be fixed), she knew there would be a total of seventy-one.

 _He's free now—_ _they won't have anything to exploit from that_ _._ "There," she murmured to him, although he couldn't hear her at the moment. "Now you can choose."

Looking at him from the outside—even the inside—anyone else would see no difference. But he knew. Evyn knew.

As the light flickered back into his eye sockets, Evyn rubbed her own. She felt lighter now, and, in a way, so did he.

"You are crying," he pointed out. "Why?"

She spoke the truth, although it was not the honest reason. "I'm sorry I never let you have a blaster."

If K2 were human, he would have frowned.

"Your apology is appreciated, though I rarely care for such sentiment. But-"

"Please," Evyn choked out, her words bearing an air of finality. "Leave." She couldn't have him here any longer. Her best project, and yet… she cared for him too much. It was going to make it even more difficult.

K2SO left shortly after that. And even with Evyn reassuring him that she was fine, he did it against his own mechanical instincts.

Once she was sure he was gone, Evyn took a long, shaking breath. An uncharacteristically calm wave of emotion washed over her. The euphoric sense stilled her nerves.

Evyn was thankful that the bandages had come undone. She let her arms feel the air.

There weren't any sharp objects nearby—not even a glass she could break.

She began to pick at the stitches.

* * *

At twenty-four, Cassian was valuable to the Rebellion. A member of his seniority (combined with his youth) was a rare artifact.

His experience and lengthy standing with the Rebellion was the reason Mon Mothma did not dismiss him.

He had realized years ago that he needed the Rebellion just as much as it required him. Sometimes, the ratio was even greater. Cassian was thankful and also unsurprised with the decision.

For now, at least, he was on what they would call 'probation'.

Evyn was to be released back into service by the end of the month. Although her psych report showed that she needed more time than that, no more could be spared.

In the Rebellion, everything seemed to always happen with seconds to spare. _Rushing, rushing, rushing… but to what end?_

Cassian was to inform Evyn of her release date. _Soon,_ he hoped. - _Once she's recuperated, of course—_ _w_ _e'll be able to go back to how it was._

Oddly enough the door to her room wouldn't open. Peering into the tiny glass window, he could only see the end of her hospital bed. As always, her feet were poking up from under the blanket.

Cassian called mechanical control, asking them to give him the password.

The informant remarked that it was unusual for the door to be shut to outsiders like that. Closed, maybe—'for privacy, is all'—but not _locked._

Finally, after Cassian punched in the 'open' sequence, he was able to go inside.

She was sleeping, turned away from him. Cassian shuffled over to her, careful to keep quiet.

He reached out to Evyn's arm, meaning to wake her.

 _"_ _Evyn,"_ he began to whisper, but stopped and drew his hand away.

He stared at his fingers in horror. They were coated with a heavy substance. In an afterthought, he realized it was red.

Past his control, Cassian's heartbeat began to pick up at an unsteady pace.

He moved her so that she was on her back, round face turned to the ceiling.

"No…" he breathed, hands immediately gripping her nearest forearm. _Stop it- you have to stop it._

But by the dimmed colour of her skin and the remnants of dried blood, he knew it was already too late.

His cheeks were wet. Cassian fell to his knees, clutching Evyn close to him.

* * *

A 'faceless funeral.' That was the insensitive nickname given to the monthly send-off for the dead.

Just another name amongst all the rest; burned to decomposable ash amongst all the rest; username deleted from the database… like all the rest.

K2SO had disobeyed his first order.

He'd been told to transport a shipment of standard-issue blasters to the training barracks. Instead, he had ordered another, more lower-class droid to complete the task.

Disobeying felt strangely… liberating.

The first time K2SO saw Captain Andor after Evyn's suicide was when he was sent to wipe his drives.

Looking him over, K2 noted that he displayed all the physical symptoms of a depressed addict. They were similar to that of Evyn's. This time, he said something.

"You look awful."

Cassian, for once, did not respond. He opened the plate on K2SO's back, fingers inching closer and closer to the idiosyncratic memory drive.

Unlike most of K2SO's speech, his next words were prepared and deliberate.

"Would Evyn want you to do this?"

An individual word; a simple _name_ caused the young captain to stop what he was doing.

No one had said it since her death.

"You- you don't know…" Cassian gasped, "…what she wanted."

"On the contrary," K2 said. "I know exactly what she wanted."

At that, Cassian dissolved into a shaking mess. The cord that was supposed to drain K2SO's memories stayed, disconnected, in his hands.

"Does this mean you'll not be erasing my files?" K2 asked innocently.

Cassian shook a shaky breath before answering, "no, not today."

'Not today' became his mantra. It was what he would say in defiance of anyone who opposed him. 'Not today', he thought, narrowly escaping an Empire search party for the second time that month. Not today would he abandon the Rebellion. Not today would be ever give up, and not today would he forget the dangers of growing attached to another, unexpendable person.

Today wasn't the day he would forget her name.

* * *

 _Two Years Later._

To Scarif, towards an uncertain fate. With only hope to guide them and the thought of the ones who could be saved—the ones who _would_ be saved.

Before take-off, Jyn, once again, found herself in the company of the most disagreeable droid in the galaxy.

He didn't acknowledge her at first. She was about to toss a snarky comment his way until K2SO decided to speak.

"Cassian does not hate you."

She frowned. "I know that. Why else would he have gathered the people for this suicide mission?"

 _"_ _I_ think because he is reminded of someone he used to love."

"-Um, ehem- excuse me?"

"He does not remember how to care, and you remind him of a girl he once cared for: that is why he acts in such an arduous manner."

Jyn had a sudden thought, _maybe his wires really are crossed._

"Do I get any more of an explanation that that?" she inquired hautily.

Pausing his input of the coordinates, K2SO let his hands fall to the side. Uncharacteristically quiet, he said, "if we return from Scarif, then perhaps, Jyn Erso, I will tell you about my first friend."

He knew that no matter how small it was, Evyn's story deserved to be told.

.

..

...

The End


End file.
